Forever Not
by Comicbookfan
Summary: When Seto and Mokuba Kaiba are attacked in Domino, Japan, they must go to England for their safety. And Kaiba Seto suddenly finds himself knee-deep in a mess of a magic world in chaos...not to mention the ghosts of his past. HIATUS. UNDER MUCH REVISION.
1. The Attack

**A Million Forever's  
**

Summary: When Seto and Mokuba Kaiba are attacked in Domino, Japan, they must go to England for their safety. And Kaiba Seto suddenly finds himself knee-deep in a mess of a magic world in chaos...not to mention the ghosts of his past. YGO/HP crossover. Kaiba-centric.

AN/ *Facepalm*...noooo...I've been working on so many fics and now there is a sudden plot bunny, and it's HP/YGO! I'm trying to make it as original as possible, but honestly. At least the main characters aren't Bakura, Yuugi, and Malik. Don't worry, Harry Potter-verse holds a huge part in this. And the other Yu-Gi-Oh characters are playing a large role as well.

NOTE: This happens after about season two of the series, so Seto is about fifteen and Mokuba is eleven.

NEW NOTE: I have taken liberties with spells and embellished the power of one magical monster in particular (no, it's not a dementor), but those two thing won't have a huge part in the story.

* * *

_Chess and Voldemort  
_

A woman by the name of Bellatrix Lestrange was having a bad day. Honestly, she was trying to relax, and then she got called down to her master. Not that she didn't respect him with every ounce of her soul.

"Yes, my Lord?" She bowed deeply.

"I have a job for you. Gather some of the others. I need you to find somebody."

Her interest was piqued. She smiled her rabid, wolfish smile. "Really, Master. Who shall it be? And...is torture involved?"

"As much as you wish, as long as you get one Seto Kaiba alive."

"How will I know where to find him, my Great Master?" Bellatrix practically drooled at the thought of somebody screaming under her power.

"Domino, Japan."

"And, his looks?"

Her 'Master' waved a long wand in the air, as a complicated spell painted the portrait.

Her bushy black eyebrows rose. A most beautiful boy indeed...

"And...why do you need him, my Dark Lord?"

The man flicked his wand in her direction, and she screamed in unimaginable pain, dropping to the ground and scraping the floor.

"I need not questions."

The Cruciatus curse ended, but he flicked another one to her immediately. She began screaming again.

"But," He whispered cruelly. "If you really must know, he has much power. Power that is ancient and shall help us on our conquest, and then he dies, for I have no place for one like him in our new world. But his power is mirrored by others in his place, but his intrigues me most. See, the others shall be captured far later in the game, he is only the trigger to my strategy. And, for now, Seto Kaiba is a pawn I must capture, so I may turn him into a knight."

Lord Voldemort stopped his curse.

"Begone."

_

* * *

Curses_

"Mokuba, I don't see how this is reasonable..." Seto Kaiba mumbled down to his brother.

The younger boy rolled his eyes, smiling. "We're getting some fresh air. You said we could do whatever we wanted, and I chose to go to the park."

"But I _hate_ parks."

"Hate is a strong word."

"Honestly, Mokuba."

"Oh, just suck it up and come on."

Seto looked down at his brother in surprise that he did not show, wondering if he was dreaming. Nope, his eleven year old brother had just told him to, quote 'suck it up'. All right then...

"Fine, then."

The tired youth walked alongside his brother, wishing he could just be back home with his computer and coffee. But no...he just had to have been dragged along to take a leisurely stroll around the park.

That pissed him off, because if there was one thing Kaiba hated doing, it was anything leisurely. But Mokuba had forcibly dragged him from his office and his semi-reclusive state, just so he could 'get some fresh air' and 'be around people' (Kaiba shuddered at the thought).

Both Kaiba's headed to a small park that was rarely visited by anybody. Mokuba immediately ran to the swings, and Kaiba followed behind unhappily, though he didn't show it. He didn't show anything, just a calculated amount of distaste as he sat down on one of the swings, thinking that he would have to wash the trench coat he was wearing soon after.

"There they are." Mokuba heard the hissed words before his brother. He stood up and turned around, confused.

"Huh?" He spun around, almost tripping over the swing he was standing near to, suddenly coming face-to-face with a man (he was sure he was a man) in a long black robe, wearing a mask.

Seto turned around, eyes widening at all of the masked people. They formed a ring about both boys in the idyllic, _empty_ park. The taller boy's azure eyes took in the scene around him. His eyes were still widened in surprise, and maybe...fear?...even if one could not tell it was there at all. He just looked a bit ticked off.

Mokuba clutched the trench coat of his brother, sensing danger, and worrying about what would happen to him and his brother. They were still young, after all. One of the masked people lunged at him, but Seto moved in front of the smaller boy before he or she could do anything. "Seto!" He cried in warning.

One of the people shouted out a word in Latin, which the young boy realized to mean 'cut'. A stream of bright gray light coursed from a stick of all things to him, brushing his cheek. He screamed in pain as blood spattered onto his left cheek from a long cut. It wouldn't leave a scar, but it was painful. Then another stream of light passed by him, slicing his arm, and he fell to the ground crying out in pain as another stream made another cut, this one on his forehead. Seto was too busy trying to hold off the other three who had directed themselves to him.

Mokuba surged to the man, and, grabbing the stick he was sure was the source of the pain, he snapped it in half just as some red bolts of light went astray, one catching his attacker, and another catching him, knocking him out.

Seto snarled as he gave a quick uppercut to one of the masked and as another bolt of red light passed by him, brushing his arm and making him feel woozy. He snatched another of the sticks, breaking it in half and then hitting another masked one hard on the stomach. Yes, Kaiba was a fighter, though he was outnumbered and there was no way he could win.

Then he saw his little brother. Bile rose in his throat, and he wondered if his beloved little brother was even still alive, before he noticed the rapid rise and fall of his chest and how blood spilled out of numerous cuts. He looked at how torn the younger one's clothes were and he became aware of his own blood wetting his face and hands, and wondered how long it had been.

It seemed like forever (but it had only been two or three minutes).

Obviously, his attackers were sadists, playing with his mind and making him weak so soon- BANG! they would let something awful loose. They were missing their shot on purpose, like a cat playing with a mouse before finally delivering that lethal blow.

God he hoped these people didn't want to eat him.

Then the BANG! came: there was a victorious shout of "CRUCIO!" and he fell to the ground, trying to hold back tears of pain, anger and frustration. He heard a strangled, held back scream. Wait...was that him?

The pain was like nothing he had felt before. He fell to his knees, digging his fingers into the grassy ground, feeling the red liquid upon them.

Dizziness overwhelmed him. It took over him until he couldn't think straight anymore, and he didn't notice shouts coming from another party, one that outnumbered those masked, who were really only four or five, maybe, before another red stream of light hit him full on and he collapsed.

He didn't know that there were people surging to grasp him to take him to their master for reasons he would forever reject. It was probably better that way.

* * *

_Thoughts of the Wolf _

Remus Lupin was relieved. He was relieved that the Order had realized there was a Death Eater massacre. Then, when they figured it out, he was relieved because those who the Death Eaters were targeting were only two boys, and one who was extremely and dangerously powerful. Voldemort must have wanted him as a servant.

And they were both there, and they were both alive.

Remus was incredibly impressed that, with no magic, the boys had been able to put up a fight against the Death Eaters, because they took them over very easily, probably because most of their wands were snapped.

After all of the Death Eaters had escaped or been caught and Apparated out, the remaining Order of the Phoenix members raced to the two boys, both whom were still out cold.

One of the boys, obviously much younger than the other-at about nine, perhaps-his arms were scratched up, his clothing torn, and blood coating his face, the product of some cutting curses, and his longer than normal black hair was messed up, splaying about him every which way.

The other boy, who was much taller and older and Remus found he was unable to make an accurate estimate of age for, had one long arm thrown over the heaving chest of the other boy, looking like he was in pain, also coated in blood.

One of the larger, stronger Aurors grabbed the taller one, and Remus himself grabbed the younger one, worried that the boy was traumatized, and that during the process of Apparating- because of the fact that when Apparating, air flow was only 80%-the younger boy's breathing would stop completely.

But he didn't stop breathing.

When he reached the headquarters for Order of the Phoenix, a resistance group they had re-put together, Sirius Black bounded up to him in dog form, then changing into man.

"What happened?"

"You-Know-Who happened."

"Shit."

"Exactly."

Molly Weasley immediately started worrying about the new charges, and the rest of the Order had a meeting.

In the same meeting, even Dumbledore was brought in. And his solution was simple: the Order of the Phoenix would take the boys under their metaphorical wing. Their parents would find about those unfortunate circumstances when the boys woke up and told them who they were.

Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley found a way to make themselves useful, cleaning their wounds and redoing bandages, taking care of the boys while they were unconscious and the Order was debating whether to send them to St. Mungos or not.

Of course, they were also of help when the smallest one opened his eyes, showing his purple-gray orbs for the first time...

...And spoke in a strange language.

_They were not being paid to do this..._


	2. The Blinding Morning

**Forever Not**

**AN: **_**Thank you to all THREE of my wonderful reviewers! Everybody else should take an example from them.**_

**THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN COMPLETELY REVISED SINCE IT'S FIRST POSTING!!!**

_**

* * *

  
**_

A stream of words came out from the mouth of the little boy, none of which anybody could understand.

But, finally, Hermione caught onto something: _gomen nasai_.

_'I'm sorry'_ in Japanese.

Oh no...

"Are you speaking in Japanese?"

Mokuba blinked twice at the girl, slowly.

"Oh!" He exclaimed shortly. "You are not a speaker of Japanese!" His English was perfect, except for the slight Japanese accent.

Oh thank God.

"But you can speak English?"

"Very well." Hermione liked the boy instantly. He had a sweet, earnest way of speaking.

His big, oddly-colored eyes blinked up at her curiously, and he reached a hand up to his face, feeling the bandages that had been placed over the magically healed but still sore wounds. Hermione put her hand over his to bring it down, abruptly remembering something she had forgotten to ask. "What's your name?"

"Kaiba Mokuba. But in your way of saying it, it would be Mokuba Kaiba."

Hermione blinked in confusion before realizing what he meant: in Japanese, the family name came first.

"How old are you, Mokuba?"

"Eleven years, now."

The bushy-haired girl noticed how glazed-over his eyes were, and it seemed that he had not processed what she was saying to him.

"'Ey! He's awake!"

Mokuba gasped and looked around wildly before his eyes landed on the boy in the doorway. He had bright red hair and was tall and gangly, and Mokuba felt a bit suspicious about him at first, but the taller, older boy had potential.

"Wait a minute..." The fogginess in the little boy's eyes cleared.

He looked around the room, looking terrified. "Where am I?" He looked as though he was witnessing a train wreck. "Why am I here? Who are you?" His words choked in his chest. "_Where is my brother?"_

"Uh oh. I think he's getting a bit scared."

"Gee, thanks for the information, Ronald! Mrs. Weasley! I think we need you up here! And I'm Hermione."

Mrs. Weasley hurried upstairs, looking a little cross, and expression that melted immediately when she saw the distressed child. "Calm down..." -She trailed off slightly before Hermione mouthed a word to her- "Mokuba! What do you need to know?"

Mokuba looked terrified out of his wits.

"Where is my _brother_?" He repeated.

"Your brother? You mean the boy you were attacked with?"

Mokuba looked hopeful.

"Tall? Auburn hair?"

"That's him."

"Oh thank Kami-sama! Where is he?"

"I'm afraid he's still unconscious, he's been waking up every once in a while, but not long enough yet. You did the same thing. We're thinking of sending him to a hospital."

"Do you think he'll get better?"

"Of course. You were both just beaten up very badly, passed out from exhaustion. So you should rest, after I ask you this question...do you remember what happened that made you get sent here, to England?'

"I'm in England?!"

"Yes, I'm afraid. But don't worry! You're safe here. Now, this is serious...do you, or do you not remember what happened, sweetheart?"

"I do. I got attacked by a bunch of masked people. I took one out, but then I went unconscious. Who was it? Who attacked me?

"That was a very dark wizard whose name we do not speak. We call him 'You-Know-Who'." Hermione spoke up.

"No, I'm afraid I don't know who. And it didn't look like just one-wait, WIZARD?!"

"Oh dear. Yes, wizard, you see Mokuba, where you are is not your normal world. You are in the wizarding world, now."

"I don't believe you!" He cried out.

"It's true."

"It can't be! Magic like this doesn't exist."

"You mean that other magic does exist."

"Of course."

"What are you talking about?"

"You don't have to speak so slowly. I speak English just fine."

"All right. Would you like proof that this is all real?"

"That would be nice."

"Show him, Hermione."

Hermione took out her wand, and, whispering a word, caused sparks to fly out of her wand.

"Woah. So, it is real. This is odd."

"Yeah."

Mokuba blinked again, softly, yawning.

"Just go to sleep."

* * *

Kaiba awoke.

That, in itself, was an oddity, because Kaiba didn't sleep much, and when he did, it was a nightmare that awoke him, no way around it. So he must have been unconscious. That was also weird. He looked around the room, his calculating stare taking it all in.

It was tiny and dirty in the room, so it couldn't have been his.

And then it struck him that it truly _was not_ his, he _was not_ where he used to be, and he _wasn't even sure_ if he was in Japan anymore.

And he was never not sure, because it wasn't his nature. He felt sick and weak and shocked, all in one feeling, and he didn't like that feeling.

And, because he deemed the possibly dangerous situation worthy, he cried out in a panic. Two people rushed into the room. One was a plump, middle-aged woman whom he regarded with suspicion, and the other was a good-looking boy who looked younger than his age. Because of their lack of medical knowledge, they still did not realize how lucky Seto (and Mokuba) had been, having been unconscious for some time, and with nobody in the room, it was dumb luck that got them out of that predicament alive.

"Seto! I'm so happy you're awake!" Mokuba cried in English.

Because of this, Seto took it that he was most definitely not in Japan anymore and obviously in an English speaking place. The haziness in his mind was still there, but somewhere deep inside him he sensed that something was not right.

"Where are we?" If he was a normal boy, his voice would have shaken. But Seto Kaiba was far from normal, so his voice stayed frosty and emotionless.

"England."

"What? How did we get here?" He turned his accusing but glassy stare to Mrs. Weasley. "And _who_ are _you_?" The woman didn't look dangerous, but he knew how deceiving looks could be.

Mrs. Weasley seemed taken aback at the boy's cold-heartedness. She could not imagine Ron or Harry or even Hermione acting like that, especially towards her.

"I am Molly Weasley. You and your brother were attacked by a dangerous brand of wizards called Death Eaters, a branch of wizards that follows He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

"Who must not be named? And wizards? Is this some kind of sick joke, because if it is, let it hold that I am not amused." He hissed, a wave of dizziness taking over him so he had to grasp onto the bed to steady himself.

"It's no joke."

"But you speak of magic. Magic does not exist, at least not in this way." In other ways…well, after Duel City, there was a possibility.

"Yes it does, Seto! I saw! Those sticks that the other guys used on us, they're called wands, and wands make magic. I saw!"

Seto sent a glare to Mrs. Weasley, clearly saying _If you have poisoned my brother's mind with this foolishness, be ready for a whole new world of pain._

He directed the next words to Mokuba. _"_You're being foolish. Magic does not and I repeat, does not exist."

"You've stared at it in the face way too many times to actually believe what you're telling me, Nii-san. But anyway, show him Mrs. Weasely."

Mrs. Weasley did the same thing that Hermione had done to convince Mokuba that magic existed.

Seto glared at the sparks as though they had just revealed something personal about him.

"You think that that illusion is the thing that is going to be the thing that makes me decide if this is or is not ridiculous?"

"Yes!"

"Keep dreaming, Mokuba. And this is dangerous- you actually allowed this woman to show you this cheap trick and fell for it, and keep you here…what if she's dangerous?"

"I think I would be quite dead by now."

"Be glad you're not."

"Excuse me, Mr. Kaiba, but I would never actually even think of killing somebody, especially if that somebody has never done anything wrong."

"And how do I know you're not lying?"

"You know she isn't lying." Mokuba cut in. "Because of her body language. Don't pretend you haven't read it."

"Some people are masters of disguise. You should know that by now."

"But doesn't she seem like a perfectly good person?"

"Seeing is not the same as believing." He suddenly felt like throwing up.

"Level with us _Mrs. Weasley_. Why are we here and not home?"

"Because you have been unconscious for several days, and if you go home you will be in imminent danger."

"Fine, good answer, but, how do I know this isn't a dream?"

Mokuba looked sad. "Not everything is a dream. It's _magic_, Seto, don't you see?"

"No. It's not magic. I stopped believing in magic a long time ago."

"Well, looks like you'll have to start believing it again." Mrs. Weasley whispered harshly. She didn't like this boy very much.

Seto opened his mouth to say harsh words back to her. He was a master of that. But then, something happened. One of the numerous cuts on his face opened again and a drop of blood trickled down his face. He was barely able to disguise his horror at how real the blood felt.

So maybe, if the blood felt real...

No. It couldn't be. It wasn't true.

It could not happen. Magic didn't exist.

But this place did.

"Just go away!" He cried out angrily, new desperation almost reaching his icy eyes.

The others looked at him in shock, though Mokuba seemed more sad than anything.

"GO!" He shouted.

Both figures stepped out of the door, Mokuba on the verge of tears, but Seto couldn't dwell on that. His emotions were all out of wack (though he was too well trained to help it show in any way), his breathing was becoming heavy, and his temperature seemed to be rising slowly.

The window burst. Glass showered down onto the grass in the overgrown lawn. Kaiba stared at it in shock, suddenly realizing that that had happened before. A few times, and only in private. Bile rose in his throat as he realized something: Kaiba Seto possessed magic.

But he sure as hell wasn't going to admit that.

* * *

A couple of days later, Seto was as much in denial as he had been a day or two ago, even though he had watched all of the magic: socks knitting themselves, that clock that told when members of the Weasley family were present. It was all clockwork, he promised himself. It was all machinery. And if not...if not he would wake up soon.

But how much longer could he sleep?

Mokuba hated seeing his brother in such turmoil, turmoil that he couldn't and wouldn't show.

Turmoil that lasted for almost another week and kept going even after he accepted magic, with a short conversation with his brother:

_"Seto. It's not a dream. It's magic and you know it is. They don't even know anything about technology." When he said 'they', Mokuba referred to the Weasley's. "Magic. Not shadow magic, another kind of magic."_

_"There isn't a logical explanation for it! So it can't be true! Logic is everything, Mokuba, and you know that. Logic is FACT. Fact like 'My name is Kaiba Seto. I am from Japan. I don't know what's going on right now, but it isn't good and it's far from real.' These people are actors! That's ALL!"_

_Tears welled in the younger boy's eyes, tears of desperation and tears that showed he was worried because his brother was so paranoid, so unstable, to believe it was all a joke, and act._

_"No! You have to face it, Seto. This is real. This is a fact, and you have to accept it. You have to wake up and face the morning, because it's a bright one!"_

_The way Mokuba said it jarred Seto back to reality. The reality that there was not truly a mechanism for everything. It disheartened him. It made him worry. It made him worry about the people who had attacked him and if they would come again._

_And Mokuba said it so fervently, it was so obvious that believed it was real._

_And Mokuba was a smart kid.  
_

A few days after that conversation, Kaiba had snapped that he wanted to go back to his house. Though he had fought tooth and claw (he had bodyguards, for god's sake!) the Order, whom he had somewhat come to know and fervently dislike put up a more convincing argument (they don't know magic! If you go home you'll just put yourself AND YOUR BROTHER in danger). It was always a low blow using his brother like that, but Mokuba did it too, at times.

Though Kaiba was still apparated out when he said that Mokuba and he needed proper belongings.

He brought his laptop, too, of course, after the starting revelation that he was the CEO of a huge company.

Seto, of course, was annoyed to the other ends of the Earth that Mokuba and he couldn't just stay there, but no, despite all of the bodyguards, it was too dangerous. Seto put his right-hand man Roland in charge of all proceedings that required the CEO or Vice-CEO of the company to be there, such as meetings, until he returned.

Later that same day, with Seto trying frantically to catch up on work, because he had just figured out how to make an electrical appliance work in place of high concentrated magic, the very first time that had ever happened. Mrs. Weasley brought some food to him. Only to have a whole soap-opera scene with the two brothers happen, for when she came to deliver to him the news about the food:

"Seto, you should come down to Dinner."

Seto gave her a withering glare.

"I'm not hungry." And closed the door on her face.

Surprised and a bit angry, Molly attempted to knock on the door again, only to feel a tiny hand on her shoulder. "Don't even try. I'll convince him." Mokuba smiled reassuringly. "And don't call him Seto."

"But that's his name, isn't it?"

"He doesn't respond to it. Call him Kaiba."

"But you call him Seto."

"I've known him all my and most of his life. Don't worry. I'll get food to him somehow."

"You do that, because he didn't eat Breakfast or Lunch."

"Yeah. That's Seto for you."

Mokuba dissapeared behind the door, and Mrs. Weasely down the short stairs.

Seto tapped away at his laptop while Mokuba stared, until he finally noticed the boy and looked up.

"Heeey Nii-sama!" Mokuba crooned.

"I'm not hungry."

"Awww...how did you know I was going to ask you to eat?"

"Body language."

"Oh."

"Come on."

"No!"

"Please? Mrs. Weasley cooks really good!"

"_I said no, Mokuba_."

"This isn't healthy."

"No is no."

"But..."

"No buts. Go eat."

Later that night while Seto had been working non-stop Mokuba barged in to the room with a cheese sandwich and a tiny slice of pie. He slammed the food down in front of his brother.

"Eat!" He commanded. "Eat or I'll throw your laptop out the window!"

Though he knew Mokuba wouldn't have the guts, Seto decided not to risk it.

A couple of days passed, in which Seto did nothing but work, worry, and wish that he wasn't so closely watched so that he could go out, find those 'Death Eaters' and execute them. Until one morning at only about 6:00 AM, when everything went to hell even more. Seto was working and worrying and getting to be claustrophobic, somethings he hadn't stopped doing or being and was making both him and Mokuba get on edge (mostly him), though the other young people in the house didn't really care, because, frankly, Seto wasn't exactly the greatest guy to hang out with.

And at just that time, an owl came in through the open window (damn thing wouldn't close).

Seto stared down the owl unflinchingly, breathing in and out softly, he untied the letter from the leg of the big owl, and read.

_**Mr S. Kaiba**_

_**Order of the Phoenix Headquarters**_

_**Smallest room**_

_**Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**_

_Mr. Kaiba_

_We at Hogwarts School have come to the attention that you and three other, who have been since notified, that you possess a strong brand of magic. We extend an invitation to you to attend our school as a late-starting fifth year._

_A list of supplies is enclosed._

_We expect your owl no later than August 30th._

_Minerva McGonogall,_

_Deputy Headmistress_

One week ago, Seto would not have believed the letter were real and staged an aggressive corporate takeover to alleviate his stress.

But after his weeks/month/whatever it was from hell, Seto and magic had formed a begrudging compromise: Seto stay out of magic's way, and magic would do the same for him.

But it couldn't stay that way forever.

"Hey, Seto, come on-why is there an owl in your room?"

Mokuba stared at him as though he had grown another head. Mrs. Weasley, who had been close behind, followed him into the room.

Seto couldn't breathe, it seemed that all his air had balled up in his chest and he couldn't get decent fresh air, something that had been happening ever since the attack.

"Did you receive your letter to Hogwarts?"

Hogwarts. What a ridiculous name.

"Yes."

Mokuba snatched it and read it.

"Go!"

"No way."

Mrs. Weasley cut in. "It would be a very good idea to go, to learn how to reign in your powers."

"I have a feeling that I don't have much of a choice. This Headmaster or Headmistress will keep badgering me until I say yes, won't they?"

"Of course."

"And Seto, it is a good idea. I could stay here, Mrs. Weasley already offered to let me, now that all her kids are going to Hogwarts."

A month or so ago, if Seto were in his right mind, he would in no way agree with the younger boy. But at that moment he made a decision he came to regret very much. Hey, what else could he do. He was even more mentally unstable than usual, and almost on the edge of a nervous breakdown, having serious anger management problems, and so on.

"Why should I?"

"To reign in your powers! You have powers, Seto, deal with it. You could hurt somebody. You could hurt _me_."

"Like that would happen. I would never hurt you."

At this, Mrs. Weasely cut in. "Don't you want to know anything else about your attackers? I'm afraid the only way to find out about them is go to Hogwarts. Hogwarts has an extensive library, after all."

Seto Kaiba regetted it later, but the descision had already been made by his muddled mind.

"Fine. Send the letter, say yes."

They had won this match, but it was only a warm up.

A good batter doesn't swing at first pitch.

Seto Kaiba hated sports, but it was an analogy that worked for him.


	3. Deep Trouble

**Forever Not**

**AN**/ Hey, people! I don't know how long it took me to update, but the next one should be speedy after next week. And, newly, I'm really sorry about the false alarm with the 'discontinued' thing. Sorry, I was just really stressed out that day and I don't know WHAT came over me. Just totally forget about it, never mention it again, and we should be fine. I'm really embarrassed about that, and, again, sorry! I'll see if you all don't hate me (sorry, sorry, sorry, I'm REALLY SORRY FOR THE FALSE ALARM!!!) and if my reader response is enough, and then I'll decide to either put it on Hiatus or keep going.

**_Thank you to my four reviewers, everybody should take an example from them!_**

**IMPORTANT (MUST READ!!!): I totally revised last chapter, so you should re-read that. If you don't and you don't get this chapter, not my problem.**

_This chapter: The Kaiba's meet Harry, and the other Shadow Mages make their grand entrance.  
_**

* * *

**A few days had passed in the Weasley household. Life had gone on jerkily but normally, with Seto often 'asleep' (he was, in fact, either fretting alone in the dark, or too sick-feeling to even think straight, let alone rest) and Mokuba being a general help around the house. Everybody liked Mokuba, because he was cheerful, polite, and happy-go-lucky. It seemed that he had taken it into his hands to make up for all of the things his brother was not.

"You know, nii-san, a friend of Ron and Hermione's is coming to stay." Mokuba mentioned to his brother one night while the other boy was picking at food.

He still refused to eat with the others in the family, a man named Sirius Black, who was apparently in hiding for murder that he had not committed, and whichever Phoenix members were around.

"Hn."

Mokuba smiled. "Yup, his name's Harry."

Seto didn't say anything to that, so Mokuba exited the room, just a little disappointed.

A day later, several of the Order went to pick up Harry. Kaiba, Mokuba, Mrs. Weasley, and Ginny (one of the Weasley children Kaiba had seen a couple of times) were the only ones staying.

Kaiba stayed holed up in his room, fretting and trying to drown his worry in work. He wondered just how safe things were in the Order, and he tried to quell his worries with the fact that with all of those Auror's around, Mokuba would be safe when he headed to Hogwarts. He cursed himself for his momentary lapse of attention when they had been talking about Hogwarts and when Mokuba sent his acceptance letter. He hadn't been well, though he knew that wasn't an excuse.

He growled under his breath when he realized what he needed.

Sleep.

Not even one as resistant to sleep as himself could overcome the feeling for long.

So he decided that a quick nap would be okay...

It wasn't.

Sleeping was never very pleasant, and that night was no exception. Nightmares, nightmares, nightmares, that left Kaiba tossing and turning in his bed, waking up sooner than he should have.

It was so pointless.

The auburn haired boy thought wistfully to how much happier he would be if he didn't have those cursed nightmares all the time.

Then he heard the door open downstairs, and he heard footsteps thumping upstairs, as well as voices conversing softly. He wondered about this 'Harry' person. He wondered if there was anything important about him. He thought he had read his name somewhere.

Then began the screaming. It startled Kaiba, slightly, reminding him of not-so-great times in his life. Most of all he felt horribly bothered.

Narrowing his eyes, he headed toward the room the screaming was coming from, opening the door, which just made the screaming louder. It seemed that Hermione and Ron were attempting to calm the boy down, to no avail.

"Excuse me? Would you mind shutting up for a while? Maybe, before you decide to have a meltdown, you should take it into mind that this is not your home. You have no right to go around giving everybody who resides here a headache, Potter-san."

Harry Potter, face flushed and eyes furious and confused, turned to the boy who had spoken so coolly and at the same time so bitingly.

"Who are you?"

"Seto Kaiba."

"Why are you here?"

"How is that your business?"

"I'm staying here!"

"It still isn't your business."

"Ugh, just tell me."

Kaiba glared piercingly at the boy. He hated brats like him.

"Unfortunate circumstances."

"Like what?"

"Look, I didn't come here to be interrogated by some idiot I don't even know. I came here to tell you to shut up, because you're disturbing everybody here."

He turned, and he was halfway out the door when he heard. "You don't have to be so rude!"

He pivoted and glared at the girl who had told him that, and headed to his temporary room.

* * *

As that Drama was happening in a bizarre little house in Surrey, another conversation was happening with a Headmater and a Deputy Headmistress.

"So. About this magic that Seto Kaiba appears to possess-"

She was cut off.

"Seto Kaiba has an exclusive sort of magic, yes, but do not be fooled. He is not the only one who has it."

Minerva McGonogall raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

Dumbledore presented four files to her.

The first file read:

NAME: Malik Ishtar

AGE: Fifteen years

BIRTH DATE: December (date unknown)

PLACE OF BIRTH: Egypt (location unknown)

RELIGION: Unknown, probably Muslim

CURRENT PLACE OF RESIDENCE: Cairo, Egypt

LANGUAGES: Unknown, likely Arabic and possibly Japanese

SCHOOLING: Unknown

RELATIVES: Names of parents unknown, both deceased/ Isis Ishtar; Sister, age unknown/ Rishid Ishtar; Brother, age unknown

WEIGHT: Unknown

BLOOD TYPE: Unknown

HEIGHT: Unknown (above five foot)

HAIR COLOUR: Blond

EYE COLOUR: Purple

SKIN COLOR: Dark tan

GUARDIAN: Isis Ishtar (see RELATIVES)

OTHER INFORMATION: Nothing else is known about Malik Ishtar other than the fact he ranks as the number four best player of 'Duel Monsters', a popular competitive card game, in the world.

*

NAME: Yuugi Motou

AGE: Fifteen years

BIRTH DATE: June 4th

PLACE OF BIRTH: Japan (location unknown)

CURRENT PLACE OF RESIDENCE: Domino, Japan

LANGUAGES: Japanese and near-fluent English

SCHOOLING: First year in High School

RELATIVES: Aru Motou, Mother, 35 years/ Takada Motou, father, 37 years/ Sugoruku Motou, Grandfather

WEIGHT: Unknown

BLOOD TYPE: Type A

HEIGHT: 4'7"

HAIR COLOUR: Blond, black, and red

EYE COLOUR: Purple

SKIN COLOUR: Pale white

GUARDIAN: Sugoruku Motou

OTHER INFORMATION: Little else is known about Yuugi Motou, only that he is the number one Duel Monsters player in the world, known as the King of Games. His mother is estranged, and is rarely with him, his father works on Business, traveling all over the world. He lives in the above floor of the Kame Game Shop and is near the bottom of his class rankings due to many absences over the course of his school year.

*

NAME: Ryou Bakura

AGE: Fifteen years

BIRTH DATE: September 2

PLACE OF BIRTH: Canterbury, England

LANGUAGES: English, Japanese, Spanish, and Italian

SCHOOLING: First year of High School

RELATIVES: Rhianne Jamison-Bakura, Mother, deceased/ Amane Bakura, Sister, deceased/ Ko Bakura, Father, 36

WEIGHT: Unknown

HEIGHT: 5' 9"

HAIR COLOUR: White

EYE COLOUR: Brown

SKIN COLOR: Very white

GUARDIAN: Ko Bakura

OTHER INFORMATION: : Little else is known about Ryou Bakura, except that he was England-born, but moved to Tokyo, Japan at ten years old with the death of his mother and twin sister. He is the last best player of Duel Monsters in the world. His school rankings are impressive. His father is estranged, and Ryou Bakura thus lives in an apartment in Domino alone.

*

NAME: Seto Kaiba

AGE: Fifteen years

BIRTH DATE: October 23rd

PLACE OF BIRTH: Tokyo, Japan

LANGUAGES: Japanese, English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Mandarin, Cantonese

SCHOOLING: First year of high school, but it is very possible he has had much higher schooling

RELATIVES: Names of parents unknown, both deceased/ Mokuba Kaiba, Brother, 11 years (non-magical)

WEIGHT: Unknown

HEIGHT: 6'1"

HAIR COLOUR: Brown

EYE COLOUR: Blue

SKIN COLOR: White

GUARDIAN: None

OTHER INFORMATION: Seto Kaiba is the CEO of a very important gaming company in Japan, Kaiba Corporation, formerly a weapons manufacturing company by the name of Kaiba Incorporation. He became CEO at barely thirteen years of age. He was adopted along with his brother by the late Gozaburo Kaiba when he was ten years old. Three years later, Gozaburo Kaiba committed suicide. Seto Kaiba is the legal guardian of his brother. He is very respected in his field, and also holds the number two place in the world for Duel Monsters.

Minerva frowned as she read the files. She frowned more when she put them down.

"There is barely any information about these boys. And you expect me to be able to even find them to invite them to our school, and accept?"

"Yes."

"Albus, that is hardly fair! To them or I."

"It truly is quite simple. Please, Minerva, we must, or their safety and the safety of the magical and muggle world in general may be at risk."

"All right Albus, but I'm not happy about this."

* * *

A woman wearing a stately black 'muggle' dress stepped in to a large, gray, and unmistakably ugly building.

She walked toward the reception desk and said, in flawless, almost unnatural, Japanese. "Hello. I am Minerva McGonogall. I am here to profile new students for an exclusive boarding school in Scotland. Where can I find Bakura Ryou?"

The stunned receptionist said quickly. "Room 204."

"More importantly, what can you tell me about him?"


	4. The Right Thing

**Forever Not**

**_Thank you to my two reviewers. Everybody else should take an example from them. Seriously, everybody wants reviews, you guys must understand that. So, if you read, review._**

AN/ Still really, really sorry about that discontinuing thing. Please review!

**

* * *

**_A Chapter Totally Dedicated to People not Seto Kaiba_

The Secretary blinked at the tall lady in front of her. "O...kay. Why do you want to know?"

"I'm interviewing him for a very exclusive school in Scotland."

"Then...what do you want to know?"

"Anything you know."

"Well, Bakura-kun's nice. Quiet. Shy. Funny, that kid is, really strange. Works some, got a permit from his school. Always manages to pay the rent, even if just barely or by borrowing. This part of Domino isn't so great. Mostly for young ones-older than him though, mostly-to live before they get a big break and move. But Bakura-kun's been living here since he was young...not sure how young. Maybe thirteen. Alone. So, yeah, good kid. Good as he can be."

Minerva sifted through the important information in her mind. Young. Quiet. Mysterious. Financially unstable.

That was not valuable information, but she knew she could learn more when she met the boy.

She headed to the room the Secretary said he lived in, 208.

She then heard several locks unlocking. The door was opened slightly. A soft voice said. "Sorry, but who are you?"

"Minerva McGonogall, here to speak to you about possibly going to a very exclusive boarding school."

The door opened wide to reveal a very handsome boy. He had long white hair that reached his shoulder blades. His features were very effeminate and he had soft brown eyes.

He said something softly in Japanese.

"Speak up, mister Bakura." She said in crisp British English.

His eyes widened, and he said, still softly. "Sorry ma'am. Please come in. I'm afraid I wasn't expecting visitors..."

The boy was dressed in a large beige polo that was too big for him, and threadbare jeans. He looked tired.

The apartment he lived in was small and had walls that were an off-white color. He led her to a tiny living room just next to the kitchenette. It was sparsely furnished, just a little couch, a couple of wooden chairs, and a little television.

In fact, the whole apartment displayed an eerie sense of detatchment.

Minerva sat on the couch, convincing herself the strange rusty read stain upon there was ketchup or something of the like (boys will be boys...).

Trying to continue the charade of the school interview, Minerva asked some normal questions.

"First thing, mister Bakura, do you get good grades?"

"Yes. I'm ranked in the top five in my year."

"Alright." She asked a couple of questions more, and then dropped the bomb. "Do you believe you have magic?"

Bakura, who had been bustling around the kitchenette, making tea, looked at her through his bangs.

"Excuse me?"

"We at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry believe you do."

Suddenly, the boy gripped the tea cup he had been holding extremely hard.

Then Ryou Bakura appeared to become a totally different person.

"What are you playing at?" He growled.

Minerva, though unnerved by the change, still managed to reply somewhat steadily. "One less threat to the magical world."

"Threat?" He chuckled lowly.

"Yes, threat."

The boy dropped the tea cup on the floor, causing it to shatter unexpectedly, making Minerva's heart leap, and she started slightly.

He laughed again. "I'm sorry," He whispered quite nastily. "Am I scaring you?"

"Excuse me? What has come over-"

He cut her off, growling. "What's in this for you?"

"As I said. Less danger to the magical world."

He laughed again, shaking out his hair, which had spiked rather wickedly. "I don't think going to a school," He smirked. "Is going to make anything safer."

He took out from his pocket a large pocket-knife. Flicking out the blade, he smiled slightly, brushing the sliver blade quickly over his palm. Blood trickled out of the wound, and he wiped some away.

Licking his finger clean of the blood, he walked over to Minerva, who thought that apparating just then would be a very good idea. But she had pride, almost too much pride. So she stood her ground as the boy advanced on her, pointing the knife at her throat. "I believe you are posing danger to us."

_Us? Was this even Ryou Bakura speaking?_

"No, there would be greater danger if you did stay here."

"Of course."

He suddenly seemed disinterested.

"But, after this, would you still accept me in your school."

She did not answer, and he smiled a little again. "I thought so."

Then his flint-gaze settled on her again. And she noticed his eyes were wine red. Was that even possible?

"I warn you. I can go to this school. But if I find you have been lying to us..."

He snarled harshly. "I will not think twice about killing you."

At that point Minerva gripped her wand, and managed to use the _Expelliarmus_ spell to blast away the boy's weapon.

Then he became a completely different person, all over again.

Ryou looked terrified. "What happened?"

Minerva raised an eyebrow, wondering if he really did not know what was going on, or was just doing a fine job of playing innocent.

"I believe you just threatened my life."

"Oh, my god. I'm so sorry." He seemed conflicted. Then, distressed, blurted out. "I swear it wasn't me!"

"It certainly did not seem like you, but..." She suddenly realized something. "You are being possessed."

Ryou didn't answer.

"You are, aren't you?"

"Yes! I share my body with him! But he isn't really...well...he is dangerous, but he doesn't come out often! Not usually! Only when something big is happening, something that could be a threat to me...and him..."

"Have you ever tried to have him removed?"

The boy looked very sick at that thought. "No! Never! Never! I'd die, he'd die!"

"I believe you would be an extremely valuable addition to our school. But you may be a huge danger to students."

"You can't tell anybody else about what you just witnessed. It's not meant to be known, or spread around."

"How did he end up possessing your body?"

A funny look passed over the fifteen year old. "I can't tell you that."

"I don't think you could ever be a normal part of our school. You're far too dangerous. But you must come."

"W-what?"

Minerva cursed herself for moving too quickly and inviting an extremely unstable youth to Hogwarts. She was a very calm woman, but her emotions were in a frenzy.

"You must come or bad people will use you. Understand and understand quickly. Meet me in two days, outside of your apartment complex. I will take you to where you need to be."

"But you yourself said I was too dangerous." He seemed to be sending her a message.

_No! You're being an idiot! You can't invite me! He'll end up destroying everything, spiral the school into a Shadow Game!  
_

"Nothing is ever too dangerous for Hogwarts."

Minerva must have not been in her right mind, accepting such a dangerous boy into Hogwarts without knowing everything about him and how he came to be a vessel.

She must have been out of her mind.

_We housed a werewolf. I'm sure this could not be worse._

How wrong she was.

If that event was a court case, she would plead temporary insanity, because she regretted her actions almost before she made them.

* * *

Minerva was late going to the other boys' houses, because she was trying to gather her scattered wits after meeting with a dangerously unstable boy.

She stayed at a Hotel for some time, but eventually shakily gathered herself as well as she could, and still in a state of shock, went to meet Yuugi Motou.

The Game Shop the boy lived in was small and quite charming.

Outside, in kanji, it read KAME GAME SHOP.

In all, it was a nice little place, kept immaculate.

She stepped inside, and then looked towards the person who was manning the counter of the empty shop.

Bright purple eyes, spiky blond, maroon, and black hair...it had to be him.

She strode purposefully toward the boy. He turned to her beaming up a hopeful smile. "Hello, Kame Game Shop, your number one stop for all of you entertainment needs. We also do gift-wrapping." The boy seemed almost phsychotically cheerful.

"I'm afraid I'm not here to buy anything."

The boy's face fell, but then the smile came back, though weaker than before. "Oh. Well. Why are you here?"

"Do you speak English?" She asked, still speaking Japanese.

He blinked up at her, confused. "Yes." He said in English.

"Very well. I've come to speak with you about possibly going to a school in Scotland. It's a very exclusive boarding school."

Yuugi blinked up at her. "_What?"_

"I'm here to interview you to go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, mister Motou."

"Wait, Witchcraft and Wizardry? Isn't that...magic?"

"Yes, and you appear to have a very strong magic, though it is like nothing we have seen before."

The smile was completely gone by then, and the boy's voice shook. "That's not possible. There isn't any other sort of magic other than ours..."

"Yes, there is. And you are a potential danger to the Wizarding World if you do not come to this school. And the Wizarding World is a possible danger to yourself."

Suddenly, a change came over him, as he seemed to become taller (which still wasn't tall at all...) and his eyes became crimson red.

_Oh no. Not him too. _

His voice, even deeper than before, came. "A danger? What kind of danger?"

She backed away warily, ready just in case another psychotic alter ego tried to cause her bodily harm.

"There is a danger from a very dark wizard of the name...well, we don't say his name."

"I see. Why would this school be any safer than here?"

"Because, Hogwarts is an extremely well-protected school."

"Why should I believe you?"

First, Minerva took out her wand and created a shield around herself, in case the boy decided to attack.

"Because I am Hogwarts' Deputy Headmistress, I have lived withing the magical community all of my life, and I must say you are in grave danger. You and the boy whose body you reside in!"

The other did a double-take, and suddenly it was Yuugi again. "How did you know?!" He burst out. Then thought twice. "Wait, what are you talking about?!" But the sound of panic in his voice was enough to convey the fact that she had hit the nail on the head.

"I had a needless to say unpleasant encounter with one Bakura Ryou. You are in his situation, correct?"

The boy was frozen. Then he spoke. "D-did the Spirit of the Sennen Ring hurt you?"

"No, but there were some implications. And...what is this Sennen Ring? Is it in any way connected to the ridiculous bauble you have on?" The 'bauble' was obviously the Puzzle.

"It is not a bauble!"

_/What am I supposed to do, mou hitori no boku? She's figured out about you...what are we supposed to say you come from? If we just say I have multiple personality disorder, we'll be pronounced insane! And I think she's figured out the differnece between us...What am I supposed to do?/ _Yuugi wailed into the mind link.

_//We must tell her. And trust her not to explain to anybody else.//_

Then a change came over him again. "I believe you need an explanation."

"Yes. That would be helpful."

"In Ancient Egypt...there was a period, now known as the 'Forgotten Age' or something of the like. There were a few Pharaoh's in this period, and one made the Millennium Items. I know nothing more, except that two spirits were sealed into two of these items. One would be me, sealed into the Millennium Puzzle, and the other would be...the one you claim to have met, sealed into the ring of one Bakura Ryou."

"Oh my...I already know Bakura Ryou is dangerous. And your spirit, Mutou Yuugi? Is he prone to murdering people as well?"

The other changed back to Mutou Yuugi. "No, no. And...the other spirit...he doesn't cause any trouble. Really. He was just rattled by you." Yuugi was lying through his teeth, but she didn't know that.

"And...I'll do whatever you want to, whatever! I'll go to your school...I'll...just...don't tell anybody else about us and our existence."

"I wasn't planning to." She didn't tell them that she would end up telling Dumbledore about them.

"Very well. Leave now. Ask no more questions, because we will give you no more answers."

But she wouldn't tell other staff or the Ministry of Magic.

They would believe Hogwarts was being rash, inviting children with possibly homicidal spirits inhabiting their bodies. As well as a strange new power.

They would certainly want the Shadow Mages to imprision, to experiment on.

She wasn't about to let that happen to a troupe of innocent children.

No matter what homicidal spirits were inhabiting them.

"Meet me outside of Bakura Ryou's apartment complex in one day. You know where that is, right?"

It seemed that once mistakes started they wouldn't stop, because Minerva regretted her decisions that day too.

* * *

Minerva was, needless to say, drained when she visited the last child, who was staying on the outskirts of Domino, but only for a time.

When she knocked on the door, a young lady opened it for her.

She had long, silky black hair and wore traditional Egyptian garments.

She raised an eyebrow. "Hello?" Her Japanese was accented.

"Hello. You are...Isis Ishtar, correct?"

"Yes."

"Do you and your family speak English, miss Ishtar?"

"I do. The rest do not speak English, only a few phrases."

"I see. I would like to talk to you and your brother."

The girl raised another eyebrow, and switched to English. "Which one?"

"The youngest Ishtar."

"Why? He's...not very comfortable with visitors."

"I am Minerva McGonogall. I need to speak to your brother about going to a very exclusive Boarding School in Scotland. "

The lady looked surprised, and using a carefully calm voice, stated: "If so, I can already give you an answer to that question. No."

She smiled apollogetically and began to close the door.

But Minerva stopped her. "I'm afraid we will not take no for an answer. It appears your younger brother has a very special and very dangerous brand of magic, and if you do not want him accidentally killing people or dead," At that point Isis gave a rueful frown, as though thinking _too late. _"he must come to this school. To be protected, and to keep a harness on his powers."

Isis' interest seemed piqued. "So...you could help him harness his magic."

"Yes."

"How do we know you're not lying?"

Minerva created yet another shield around herself, just to show the woman she wasn't lying about magic.

"Trust me, I know. Hogwarts had held horrible things over the years. I cannot prove to you that we canhelp your brother, and because of this you must trust me."

"Very well...I will have Malik speak to you."

The woman called her brother, who came running.

His appearance was, needless to say, shocking.

His eyes, a light lavender, held some kind of naivete, but at the same time an unexplainable darkness. He wore a purple shirt that was slightly short for him, and khakis. His feet were bare, and his hair shaggy but reaching his shoulders. His skin was very tanned, his eyes were lined out with kohl. And he was...none to unpleasant to look at.

He stopped and stared at Minerva, confused, then turned to Isis.

He spoke to his sister in another language, most likely his native Arabic, and the teacher knew they were talking about her from Malik's suddenly hard looks to her way, and then curious looks.

He played with a gold earring, and then spoke, in Japanese. "Why should I go to this school?"

"As you sister must have told you. To learn how to harness your power."

His eyes were guarded but held a glint of hope. "Can you truly do that?"

"Yes."

"You must be lying."

"She isn't, Malik. Trust her." Isis said softly.

Malik turned and argued, again in Arabic that Minerva could not understand.

Isis answered calmly.

Malik turned back to look at her with narrowed eyes. "What is in it for you?"

"Nothing but more peace for the Wizarding World. Please, you must come before other, less friendly people come. You could die."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Then Isis began to speak in English.

"You must know that Malik is...not...well. He is dangerous. Not like he used to be, but dangerous."

"Don't tell me he also has a dangerous spirit inhabiting his body."

Isis looked stricken. "How did you know that?"

"I have met with the other two like your son and their respective counterparts."

"Why would you let them go to your school? Do you even know about them?"

"All I know is that I invited two boys with spirits that reside in some sort of items to our school, so perhaps they can learn to control the magic within them." _Or, so, perhaps these...items can aid us in our quest against Voldemort. The only thing stopping us from using these items for good are the people that have them, and soon we will be able to convert them to our cause._

"Oh. As an answer to your question, no, Malik does not have a spirit residing within him. He does have a item, however. And...he is in a most fragile state of mind."

"Very well." Minerva sighed heavily. "Do you know where Bakura Ryou's apartment complex is?"

"I can figure it out."

"Malik should meet me and the other Mages there tomorrow."

"Very well." Isis seemed to pass on all of that information to her brother.

Then she turned her serious gaze on Minerva. "I would advise you not to invite the Shadow Mages to your school. You have no idea about what their magic can do, even if you think so you still do not. They can be horribly destructive. They can be incredibly dangerous. Tread these grounds with caution, Minerva McGonnogal, because you do not know what you are getting into, and you do not know the fate of these children, you never truly will. After all, we have everything under control."

Shaken by the somber speech, but still unwavering, the older woman replied. "Thank you for you fair warning, but so do we."

* * *

Minerva was convinced she had done what was right by having the three young people join the school.

They would be closely watched, as would their items, and at the first glance of trouble, they would likely be put somewhere where they could not be found by anybody who would want to use their instability.

Hogwarts was the safest place for this.

So, as far as she was concerned,. Minerva McGonnogal was doing...

The Right Thing.

* * *

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	5. Alive

AN/ I don't like this chapter. It was hard to write, and I don't like it. By the way, in the spirit of so many other HP/YGO fanfictions, Yami no Bakura is nicer. Not nice, but nicer. The most famous crossovers have been able to get away with this, so...

**_Review, if you don't mind. And if you do mind, review anyway._**

* * *

**Forever Not**

_Chapter Five: Black as Pitch_

When they arrived at the Order Headquarters the Shadow Mages looked uncomfortable and out of place.

Ryou shifted nervously from foot to foot, Yuugi ran his finger down his soft, newly-straightened hair (he had straightened it so as not to draw too much attention to himself), and Malik merely looked curious about the place they were standing in.

They stood in awkward silence for a while, somehow not wanting to disturb the dusty emptiness of the place. The people who had brought them there had left them with no more than a nod, stating they would be taken care of 'soon'.

A few minutes later a nice-looking middle-aged woman ambled in.

She stared at them for a few long seconds, dumbstruck.

"Oh my." Then she smiled. "You must be the new students!" She then frowned. "Now who is who?"

Yuugi tentatively answered. "I'm Mutou Yuugi." The white-haired boy next to him mumbled something. "I mean, Yuugi Motou. The one next to me is Ryou Bakura. And the blond one is Malik Ishtar."

Mrs. Weasley smiled. The boys looked harmless enough, despite their originally shocking appearance.

And they seemed at least a little friendlier than one Seto Kaiba residing in a room upstairs.

"Alright…I suppose you do know there are other children here? Around your age, too."

They looked confused, and Ryou almost frightened.

"No? Well, alright. There's Ron, Fred, George, and Ginny. My children, who still live here. And then Harry and Hermione, Ron's friends. And then two guests of the Order…Seto and Mokuba Kaiba."

There she stopped. Yuugi looked shell-shocked, Ryou was biting his lip in surprise, and Malik was barely suppressing amusement.

"I take it you've met him?" Her words were met with nods. "Well, then. I'll show you to your room." She smiled, then. "I take it you're confused. You can come down here once you get settled and the rest of the people who are usually around here will fill you in."

The boys nodded.

Molly led them to a room upstairs , telling them that it was the room they would be sharing.

It was small, but not too small. Sadly, she didn't know what happened when Yami no Yuugi and Yami no Bakura were around each other.

Almost immediately the two were at each others' throats.

Yami no Yuugi growled in his tenor voice. "Don't you dare ruin this! Not for Bakura, and not for any of us!"

Yami no Bakura smiled nastily. "Of course not. This could…benefit me." Thoughts ran through his head. Mostly about being able to truly avenge his slaughtered village of Kuru Eruna by collecting all seven Millennium Items. And of course, managing to rule the world in the process.

Of course, he wouldn't do the true learning, merely be able to process what his light side had learned. And that could prove…helpful.

Anyway, he had mellowed out, just a little, and become weaker when he had been in the Shadow Realm, separated from Ryou. New emotions had managed to break through his greed and hatred. Such as his care for his little vessel. His host was, after all, a part of him, and neither could live without the other.

* * *

There was a loud knock on the room of the three Shadow Mages' door when they were almost done settling in.

It opened, a quiet creaking sound filling the room.

Yuugi smiled when he saw who it was. "Hi, Mokuba!"

Mokuba smiled. "Hey. How are you guys?"

"Eh, fine. A little shaken, but fine."

Mokuba laughed. "I know how that it. Seto and I, well, I don't think he'd be going to Hogwarts or anything if we hadn't gotten attacked."

Suddenly, Yuugi seemed to grow, and his eyes narrowed and turned crimson. "What? You were attacked?"

"Hm? Yeah. By some people they call 'Death Eaters'. But they won't tell us anything." _It's making Seto angry._

"Ah."

"Mhmm, we almost died. They used wands against us. We came here before you guys," Mokuba stated the obvious.

"So, you both are here? Where's your brother?" Ryou spoke softly, but not quite hesitantly.

"He's in his room. Sleeping or working." _Working._

"I see."

"Well," Malik chimed in, flippantly. "We're gonna find something out about these people, so we can go to their school. And I can tell you some stuff about what they say, if it'll make your brother feel better."

Mokuba smiled. "Thanks. Malik, right? Can't see how I could forget."

Malik smiled, almost embarrassed.

"No, I can't see how you could."

* * *

"What should we tell them?" Was the primary question buzzing around the table where the Order of the Phoenix was meeting.

Other snatches of conversation buzzed around.

"They don't know anything about this place."

"...Well, neither do Kaiba or Mokuba."

"That's different."

"How does that make sense...?"

"...the only way we could get him to come..."

"...Diagon Alley..."

"...when _should _we get them all there..."

"...dunno..."

"Soon, I'll say."

"...mhmmm..."

Suddenly, the table was silent as McGonogall stood. She said, loudly. "I believe this was a very wise decision, inviting these boys. They appear quite unstable. The best place for them to rein in their magic is Hogwarts. We must have them take Occlumency questions as well. All teachers, please remember that we must know that these boys are dangerous."

More conversation erupted.

"...down-right crazy, if ya ask me..."

"I know!"

"...not a good idea..."

"What else could we do?"

"...Azkaban?"

"Not when they've done nothing wrong!"

"...only kids..."

"...right, they are..."

"...could be worse..."

"Could be better, too."

"...mhmm..."

Eventually, they all calmed down, quieting as the boys were led into the room.

Ryou, Yuugi, and Malik suddenly felt as if they were being dissected by everybody's questions.

"Where are you from?"

"Are you sure you'll be a lesser danger to our students?"

"Why are you here?"

The questions continued, until Yami finally took over. "Enough!" The conversation ceased. "I believe this was a time for us to ask questions, was it not?"

Lupin coughed. "Yes. What do you have to ask?"

"What is this Order we've been hearing of?"

"The Order of the Phoenix, a group against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

"Who is He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?"

"...Voldemort."

Shudders passed through the table.

"What are the dangers that could arise if we didn't go to your school?"

"Many. Death Eaters, Voldemort's minions. The Ministry of Magic."

At that point, Malik butted in. "Aren't they supposed to be the good guys?"

"We suppose, but they are doing little to help the uprising of Voldemort."

Eventually, the conversation reached a close.

It seemed that everything they had asked had hit dead ends.

They exited to their room with more questions than answers.

* * *

The next day Kaiba awoke from his sleep, not too rudely. It had been a mostly dreamless sleep that night, thank goodness.

He knew that by then, the other Shadow Mages would be there. Somehow, he didn't want to face them.

He just didn't feel like it.

But, before he could get out his lap top, Mokuba burst into the room. "Hey, Seto-nii!"He cried, cheerful as always. "The others are here, do you wanna go say hi?"

"Guess my answer."

"Worth a try." Mokuba shrugged, sitting down at the edge of the bed in the room. He caught a glimpse of the ever-coveted computer. "Are you really working so early in the morning? Come down stairs to eat."

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Come on, you can't stay in this room forever. Some time, when you're in Hogwarts, you _are _going to need to be around people. You even have to share a dorm, I'll bet. You don't even have to talk to anybody, just be around humans."

"I'd rather not."

"Come on, wasn't that a convincing argument?"

"Would convince a lesser man, yes."

"But...what about you?"

"I'm not a lesser man."

"So you aren't convinced?"

"No."

"Please. Just do this, for once, for me...you have to learn how to be in civilized society at some point in time."

"Who here runs a multi-billion dollar corporation?"

"...You."

"Would I be able to do that if I had no people skills whatsoever?"

"...No."

"My point."

"Oh, just come on. I really will throw your lap top out the window this time if you don't."

"Isn't that threat a little old, Mokuba?"

"No. I really mean it this time."

"Yeah, right...wait, give that back..."

"Can't make me!"

"Mokuba, you're acting childish! Put the lap top down!"

"Nope!"

"Fine, I'll go down stairs if you stop dangling the lap top out the window."

"Yay!"

Kaiba was almost proud of his brother.

* * *

When the two brothers came down stairs, Seto almost sulking, but managing to keep his dignity, the others greeted them quite suspiciously.

Harry didn't like that Kaiba boy. The other one was fine, but the one who was his age (that certainly was a surprise) was just...insufferable.

He, Hermione, and Ron had met the other 'Shadow Mages' a short while ago. Yuugi was nice, though his mood swings bordered on suspicious, Malik seemed a bit out of it and sometimes nasty, but not half bad, and Bakura...they weren't sure what to make of Bakura, who seemed almost painfully shy and withdrawn.

Of course, he had gotten all that information in the span of one or two days, so he wasn't making any bets on the boys' personality.

But so far, all of the new people in the house seemed interesting, and nice enough. One could never be sure, though. Harry cursed himself for managing to be so paranoid. Just because the boys were slightly odd didn't mean they were servants of Voldemort.

He hadn't really met Kaiba, or anything, except for that time when the boy had been snappish and rude to him. However, he couldn't deny that the taller boy had had a point. It wasn't Harry's house.

The table, that morning, was filled, due to later night Order business. Fred and George were joking at one side of the table, Mokuba and Yuugi were chatting, and Bakura was engaging in idle conversation with Malik. It seemed like a serious conversation, and there was much nodding and very low-key whispering. Nobody could hear a word they were saying, and nobody was trying to. Harry found that odd, but didn't try to figure out why, even if the two weren't really forgettable. Then he realized that they were speaking in...what was it?....Arabic?

But, hey, that was just his opinion.

Kaiba seemed at a distance from everybody else in the room, long dark blue coat swept around him, bright blue eyes languid and uninterested. Whenever somebody looked over and made direct eye contact with him, his eyes seemed to become sharper. Even without saying words, one could imagine him snarling _'what?'_ at one.

Yes, Kaiba certainly was not a delight to have in the household.

Everybody knew that, at least.

* * *

"So, let me get this straight, we're supposed to get to this Diagon Alley from here by..."

"...Frying ourselves?" Malik helpfully added in to Ryou's sentence. He had certainly been talkative ever since he had the Language Charm put on him.

Molly heaved a sigh of importance, and said. "Don't worry, you're not going to fry yourselves. It's merely a way to get somewhere, like a portal."

"That's insane." Kaiba spat out.

Molly shot him a look that didn't even begin to phase him, due to the fact that his was a few million times more powerful.

But, eventually, everybody got in and out of the fireplace, landing in Diagon Alley.

In there, the ones who hadn't seen it before gasped in awe, and even Kaiba looked a little surprised. But it was more of a thinly veiled disappointment.

"Wow!" Bakura whispered, star struck. He had always loved magic, even when he was young, and had never even dreamed that some day he would be able to see a whole magic...city! It was too amazing. But he kept quiet, as though he was worried that anything that happened would wake the spirit up from his slumber. The sprit really hadn't done much but annoy him since they had been reunited since Battle City.

It was quite bothersome, but better than waking up with blood on his hands. Not that it didn't still happen every once in a while.

But, as the others went to the Bank, he paled. Regaining his composure, though the little color he had in his face didn't come back, he handed his fist full of yen to Malik, telling him explicitly to go exchange at the Bank, and then give it to him.

"Wait, what should I tell them?" Malik gestured to the others.

Ryou's eyes flashed red as he began to run away. "Anything!"

When the blond boy got inside the giant museum, he thought it was a shame Bakura hadn't been able to come, because he would have been entranced by the shiny clean magic and magical creatures.

When they stepped out of the Bank (Gringotts, Kaiba knew it was called) they found Bakura patiently waiting for them in Flourish and Blott's, so they bought their quills and books. The two who were most interested in the books were Kaiba and Ryou. Ryou looked at all of the books, the ones about magical creatures catching his eye respectively, and Kaiba immediately went to the Defense Against the Dark Arts section, stopping to look at some books on the way.

The other two Shadow Mages weren't big readers like the two, but Yuugi found a book he was interested in and thumbed through it, and Malik was immediately drawn by the flashy colors and beautiful paintings in particular books. He had never been able to read well, but had always found a great source of managing time was looking at pictures.

Eventually, they had to leave the place, heading to the Apothecary. It seemed that none of them really wanted to leave, and their next stop, the Apothecary, was no nice place either.

They got their potions suppiles, Seto wrinkling his nose distastefully at the ugly smell.

Eventually, they got to the wand shop. Nobody was inside it, because it was already rather late. The sign up at the door said: _Ollivanders: Making wands since 500 B.C._

When they got into the shop, Seto breathed a sigh of almost-relief. Finally, a smell he could live with. He had liked the smell of books from Flourish and Blotts, but the smell that came from the wand shop, dank and musty, was almost pleasant.

Several of the people in the room jumped as an old man, one who had obviously been a looker in his day, with sliver hair and a stooped figure appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. Seto, exercising self-control, did not jump.

The man spoke in a smooth but old voice: "Well, you must be the new students. Starting Hogwarts late...special...very special indeed."

Nobody looked taken aback at that. Everybody had been told at some point that they were special. It brought back bad memories for most of them, but all of them had been told the same thing, at some point in time.

The man studied each Shadow Mages' face, finally falling on the tallest in the room. His gaze lingered there, as it had with most of the boys, but this time the boy he was loking at did not stand it.

"Get on with it!" Kaiba snapped.

Ollivander nodded his head, blkinking slowly, and crooked a finger at Yuugi. "Come. I sense powerful magic."

Yuugi stepped forward hesitantly. "Hold out your wand hand."

Yuugi stuck out his right hand.

A measuring tape came around, flicking everywhere on his body, until he eventually swatted it away.

The first wand exploded a window. The second caused a small fire on the mantle. The third, fourth, fifth, and sixth had similar reactions.

It had become quite frustrating, but Ollivander looked quite amused. "Don't worry, m'boy, a wand will find you eventually!"

Eventually, it did.

The wand was long, flexible, and dark mahogany. It had the hair of a Unicorn and the feather of a Phoenix embedded in it, which somehow fit, for both Yami no Yuugi and Yuugi.

Bakura encountered similar trouble. Several wands passed by him, until Seto was horribly bored and showing it, and Ollivander was...amused.

The boy finally found his wand. It was made of Aspen wood (a strange wood for a wand), was flexible, and had a strange mixture of a Hungarian horntail scale, and part of a Unicorn horn.

Eventually, Malik found his wand as well, an apparently deadly mixture of (as all of the Hikaris had had) Unicorn hair, and the crystallized blood of an owl.

When it was finally Seto's turn, those in the shop, bored out of their minds, waited for another long, long time of choosing wands. But, to everybody's surprise, he easily got it, a long wand with a Romanian Ice (1) scale and, continuing the trend, part of a Unicorn Horn.

He pocketed the wand, relieved to finally get out of the shop.

But then, grumbling, he was pulled into one last shop. The Magical Menagerie. A pet shop.

Seto Kaiba was not an animal person. At all.

He really, really didn't like them.

But, sadly, the other Shadow Mages did.

Malik eventually picked out a cat, a small calico female that he named Iman.

He seemed very happy about the cat, and it was obvious he had never had any sort of pet before.

Ryou did pick out a cat. Actually, Yami no Bakura did. He was a great admirer of cats. The cat, another girl, was dubbed Lila, a name that Yami no Bakura didn't stop groaning about.

And Yuugi was the one that picked out an owl. A beautiful Great Horned Owl, the male was dubbed Hasani. By, of course, Yami no Yuugi.

Seto did not by any chance pick a cat, or a rat, or an owl. Until, finally, pitiful mewing attracted him to one table where a cat was curled up. The cat, an inky black color, looked up at him , with big completely black eyes, and he knew that Mokuba would be over-joyed if Seto got some sort of animal companion.

She mewed, and he was about to turn away when she latched onto his trench coat with surprising quickness.

He looked at the thing in disgust, but it wouldn't let go. He tried to take the claws off of his coat, but wasn't able too until he ripped the thing away.

She meowed loudly in terror, and the Shadow Mages looked at Kaiba, engaged in some sort of staring match with the blind cat.

Finally, not quite giving in but wanting to spare himself the trouble, he took her to the counter. "How much is it?" He snapped to the cashier.

The woman looked at him. "Hm. A sickle. Didn't think anybody'd want her. Weak, sick, useless thing. She'll die in less than a year, heads up there."

And it was at that point that Kaiba resolutely took that as a challenge. The cat would die? So?

He had spent time with sickly children, he had been sick himself-he knew how it was to be unwanted, and like that, he slammed the sickles down on the counter, gathering the cat up, and headed back to the Weasley house, with everybody wondering what on Earth had come over him.

Mokuba ran to greet them when they got to the Burrow, and immediately started melting over the female cat.

"What's her name?"

Kaiba didn't want to give her a name, wondering what stroke of insanity had made him want to keep that scrawny, weak little thing.

He didn't want to give her a name, Heaven forbid he become attached-or as attached as he could be.

But he finally decided on one, just there, looking down at her like she was the plague. "Vitia." He almost spat out.

The name was the first one that came to his mind, though _alive _was barely the word he would use to describe her.

The cat mewled and stuck her paw in his coat.

Distastefully, he dropped her into Mokuba's arms.

As he was going to sleep, he noticed her on the edge of his bed.

"I thought I'd gotten rid of you."

Frankly, the best name for her would have been _Mistake._

And that was what he called her in his mind.

The cat curled up at the foot of the bed and wouldn't get away. The thing was small, and he was tired, so he didn't kick Mistake out of the bed, though he certainly thought he had, kicking in his sleep.

But, in the morning, she was there.

_Stubborn, stupid little thing._

Throughout the nights leading up until Hogwarts, Seto barely acknowledged the existence of Mistake, and when he did, it was only to brush her off his lap. But he had never really hated cats. In fact, he remembered, at some point in time, he had quite liked them.

Leading to Hogwarts, the nightmares became more and more, burning in his mind. They were never bloody, but always disturbing. He had never had a dream that wasn't disturbing.

He slept less and less.

* * *

On moving-to-Hogwarts-day he got up and headed to the new school.

Life was so unfair, but he was used to it.

Mokuba stuck by his side I'll the way to King's Cross.

"I'll miss you, Seto."

Kaiba just nodded.

* * *

AN/ Please review! By the way, Mistake is a sub-plot point. I may even have some fun and make a chapter from her point of view in the future. She may seem pointless now, but trust me, there's lots of plot behind her.


	6. The Train

**Forever Not**

**_Thank you to my four reviewers. Everybody should take an example from them._**

_Well, short chapter this time.  
_

**_

* * *

_**Kaiba wanted to sit in a compartment on his own, but, other than being a school he was giving up at least one of his most rigid beliefs for, it was also apparently overcrowded.

If they could do magic, he thought bitterly, why couldn't they elongate the train or something?

But instead, he had to sit with a bunch of idiots.

And Harry, who was also an idiot, but an idiot Kaiba could understand. After all, it wasn't like he thought orphans should stick together or something, but he did almost sympathize with Harry's situation. Even though he was an idiot.

_Look who's talking, Seto. You're the one who practically imitates the adoptive father he hates._

Seto cleared his mind of the thoughts, letting the murmurs around him be the only things on his mind. Not the words, just the pleasant humming sound.

He noted Ron and Hermione weren't in the compartment, and that was because of something to do with being a prefect.

He pressed his head against the cool glass of the train window, absentmindedly resting a slim hand on Mistake as she crawled onto his lap. Usually he would have pushed her off, but at that moment he almost welcomed her.

He didn't even like thinking all that much. It brought too many unwanted memories to surface, when he wasn't thinking about school or work. But he had to, eveybody had to.

He dealt with it.

Mistake sunk a claw into his finger, and he barely registered the slight sting as he removed her claw from his hand.

He pressed his forehead harder against the window, as though the cold would make him want to vomit less, or the slight fever he hadn't bothered to get looked at go down.

Yuugi pulled out his deck, and Kaiba jumped on the chance to have something to do.

Yuugi (or Yami no Yuugi, rather) just barely beat him. Yuugi challenged him to another game, and Kaiba took the bait, that time losing even worse than the other time.

Almost angrily, eyes narrowed, he stored his deck back into his pocket and went to his seat again, still pressing his head against the window and trying to block out all the sound of the world, and trying to forget he had lost yet again.

_But it wasn't such a big deal. Just a friendly game. Or as friendly as you can manage to make it. _

Kaiba almost groggily observed Yuugi and Malik teaching the basics of Duel Monsters to a hopelessly confused Harry.

_Even if you still lost. You should be used to it by now, anyway._

Bakura was sleeping, and Kaiba was tempted to follow the white-haired boys lead.

His eyelids drooped, and he finally succumbed to the sleep he had been trying to deny himself for days.

As usual, he had a nightmare. But thankfully, it wasn't as bad as most other ones, the kind of fake dream you can convince yourself really aren't real.

The only idea the other's had about what the boy was dreaming about (and seeing Kaiba sleep, actually sleep, was a total shocker) was one thing: nothing.

The only movement he made was a slight curling of the lip, and sometimes he shut his eyes tighter than they already were shut. That was all.

* * *

Two hours later, Kaiba, who had always been a light sleeper, woke up. He didn't open his eyes, but he was conscious.

Because it was just then that somebody walked into the compartment. He could feel the tension in the room, and figured that whoever had walked in was obviously less than welcome.

"Hello, Potter. Looks like you brought some new _friends."_

He could hear the sneer in the other boy's voice, and some kind of grunting from behind him, as though he was flanked by somebody or something. Kaiba still didn't bother opening his eyes.

"Huh. Are these also mudbloods?"

That sounded like something that was most likely an insult.

"Shut up, Malfoy."

_That was lame, Potter._

"So, how's it been going? Still hanging around blood traitors and mudbloods?"

_Get a new insult._

"That's it..." Ron growled, and Kaiba heard shuffling as the boy stood up.

Hm. He hadn't noticed Ron and Hermione come in.

_I must have been exhausted._

"Ronald, don't be rash." The know-it-all voice of Hermione Granger got Ron to sit back down.

At that moment, Kaiba could seriously hear the leer in Malfoy's voice.

"Oh, these must be the new students father was complaining about. _Foreigners."_

_Now he's not just pathetic, but a racist? If everything in this magical society works like I think it does, he must be growing up to be somebody extremely successful._

"Wow, I thought you couldn't get any lower, Potter, hanging around mudbloods and the Weasleys. But now, these freaks."

Somebody else stood up with considerably more grace than Ron had.

"Say that again, Malfoy." The growling voice of Bakura during one of his what Kaiba liked to call 'episodes' rang out through the compartment.

"Bakura, sit down. Don't be stupid." The low voice of 'Yuugi' hissed.

"No way."

"Oh, come on. You expect me to be intimidated by you and...blondie here."

_Malik. The two of them must be intimidating. Either this boy is really brave, or very stupid._

"Look whose talking."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, where'd you get that blond? It can't be natural. And, how many bottles of gel do you use a day to get your hair slicked down in that slimy way? Not that it isn't perfect for you. Matches your personality."

_Oooh, battle of the hair products. _

"Huh. Well, no matter what's with your hair, you're still a freak."

_Weak come-back. I give it a two._

"That's it!" Bakura growled, patience finally coming to an end.

"Sit down."

"Don't pull on me! I'm not sitting down. I'm teaching this kid a lesson."

"Hah!"

Before Malfoy could make another lame comeback, Kaiba's eyes finally opened.

"As much as I'd like to see Ishtar and Bakura rearrange your face, I think this is a waste of time for everybody here." Blue eyes scanned the compartment.

"Hah! How do you know?"

The much taller boy swung on his heel to meet Malfoy. His eyes narrowed. "Malfoy, if you haven't noticed, I'm bigger and obviously stronger than you. Not to mention more intelligent. So, I'd appreciate it if you'd get out of my presence."

"What gives you the power of telling me what to do?"

"Here? Nothing. But you're still leaving now."

"How?"

"Do you really want to stay for the fireworks, you insignificant speck of dust?"

_Ouch. Bad metaphors, Seto._

"Ugh! I'm leaving! My father will hear about this!"

"And you expect me to be scared?"

Malfoy huffed, turning on his heel and taking his lackeys with him.

Kaiba smirked, sitting back down.

He knew he had won.

He pressed his forehead against the glass once more, and continued to stroke Mistake, suddenly feeling very tired. And his forehead felt hotter than it had been before his little verbal sparring match with Malfoy.

He suppressed the urge to groan.

For the rest of the ride, nobody said a word to him. Which was fine. He didn't want to talk anyway.

* * *

Kaiba walked near the other transfer students quietly as they followed some sort of...vehicle.

_Carriages? Really? What time period is this, because last time I checked it was, what...late nineties?_

Harry, Ron, and Hermione seemed to wonder about what to do with the transfers, before shrugging and leading them on to the carriage.

Mistake clamored onto Kaiba's shoulder but he brushed her off and merely held her. The robes he was wearing made him feel like an idiot, something he didn't enjoy feeling. But he was able to get his mind off of the fact that it seemed he had come out of some sort of wannabe fairy-tale book by observing the horses pulling the carriages.

They were winged and bony, with leathery skin. In fact, they were quite beautiful.

Harry seemed a little disturbed looking at them, the other transfer students seemed rather fascinated, and Ron and Hermione didn't notice them at all.

Finally, when they managed to get to the school, they looked at it appreciatively for a while. It was a huge castle, and quite beautifully made, but he didn't pay it much attention.

When they got inside, McGonogall bustled them over to a place where a bunch of younger kids were congregating.

Then came the Sorting.

And then came the explanation of what the sorting was. The response for the transfers was instantaneous-they paled. This hat was going to look into their heads? Yuck...

Eventually, they were in front of hundreds of teens and pre-teens that were all whispering about them.

After all of the first years had been settled into their new houses, a system that Kaiba didn't try to understand but had learned about, the transfers were introduced.

"Hogwarts is pleased to announce that there are some new students, that shall immediately progress to fifth year. They are transfer students from Japan and Egypt."

Then the first name was read.

_"Bakura, Ryou._"

* * *

_I need your help!_

_What houses should the characters go into? All houses are eligible except for Hufflepuff._

_Please, people who review, try to all vote._


	7. The Sorting and Getting Situated

**Forever Not**

**_Thank you to my _**

_Thank you so much to setoglomper for really helping me out with choosing the houses. _

**And don't worry if your favorite character (not including Kaiba) gets placed into a house that isn't Gryffindor or Slytherin. All the supporting Yu-Gi-Oh! characters get basically the same amount of page-time. **

**AN/ Didn't like this chapter all that much...but...it gets some stuff done.  
**

_

* * *

_Chapter Seven: The Sorting and Getting Situated

Whispers broke out across the Great Hall as students noticed the transfers.

Bakura walked toward the hat tentatively, his good looks making many girls giggle.

He sat down on the stool and gently placed the hat on his head.

_"Ah."_ A voice whispered in his head. Bakura's breath caught.

_"Who are you?"_

_I am the Sorting Hat. And you, Ryou Bakura, have a unique mind. In fact, you have two."_

Yami no Bakura growled. _"Just sort him."_

The Hat chuckled. "_No. In no way will I ignore you, spirit. You are part of his mind, no matter what. Now, we'll get to the real Sorting._

_"Spirit...you are malicious, cunning, clever, and manipulative. The perfect Slytherin. But, of course, you are wise. You are intelligent. You could be Ravenclaw. And you, Mr Bakura, are sweet, loyal, clever, brave. You would be fine as a Slytherin. But personally, I don't think it would work with you. Now...Hufflepuff...you are loyal. You are a good friend. But you aren't outgoing enough. Not Hufflepuff. Gryffindor...you'd be a perfect Gryffindor. You would die for your friends. But, then, you just wouldn't fit in."_

_"I believe I have reached a decision..." _The Hat cried out to the world: "RAVENCLAW!"

Bakura let out a sigh of relief, looking exhausted as people all around him clapped and he shook hands with some Ravenclaw's.

McGonogall waited for the cheering to die down before she called out the next name: "Ishtar, Malik."

Malik walked up to the hat, taking it from the woman's hands and sittting on the stool first, then placing it on his head.

_"Hello." _A soft voice whispered somewhere in his mind.

He jumped a little, all too used to little voices in his head.

_"Ah. Your mind is not as complicated as your friend's...but still complicated. Oh, another dark past. How unpleasant."_

_"Can't we just get on with this?"_

The Hat chuckled. _"Indeed. Hmmm...you are clever, manipulative, maybe even cruel. But that isn't really you. At least not the cruelty...You would make a great Slytherin. However, I believe Slytherin would be the worst House for you. After all, you can be loyal, kind, understanding...yes. Hufflepuff. But there is deep bravery in you that is not fit for Hufflepuff. Gryffindor. A good Gryffindor, yes. However, there is your curiosity. You always wish to learn new things about this new world you have found yourself in...and you are not stupid. No, not at all. I believe the choice for you would be..._RAVENCLAW!"

Bakura looked up in surprise as Malik awkwardly shook hands with some fellows, not accustomed to greeting people like that. He had thought the other boy would certainly get Gryffindor. But he supposed there was good reason for him being a Ravenclaw.

He smiled slightly at Malik and Malik positively beamed back.

"Kaiba, Seto."

Whispers spread across the hall. Most had heard of the young CEO, at least those who were Muggle-born.

Kaiba strode up to the front of the hall, sat on the stool, and perched the Hat o his head regretfully, wondering exactly how stupid he looked.

_"Seto Kaiba." _The voice whispered.

_"And you are the Sorting Hat. No time for formalities. Just sort me."_

_"Very well. Not very patient, are you? No. Well, you could pass for the Slytherin heir...geatly manipulative, cunning, clever. But you would make an even better Ravenclaw...indeed. Brilliant intelligence, such responsibility at such a young age...pity."_

_"What do you mean by that?"_

_"If you were ready to understand, you would. Yes. Ravenclaw would be anybody's immediate desicion for you. But you could fit into any House. Even Hufflepuff, because of the loyalty you possess toward your brother...and would possess towards others if only you were slightly different...But that's pushing it, isn't it? Now, Gryffindor. Yes...bravery, courage...honestly, merely because of the bravery that you have shown in the past and can show in the future if you learn to...conquer your fears...you can become a... _GRYFFINDOR!"

The Gryffindor table burst into cheers as it's new member walked over, sitting as far away from human contact as possible.

Yuugi smiled as his name was called, scanning the Great Hall. The Hat was pulled over his head over his newly soft hair.

_"Another one."_

Yuugi started, nearly falling off the stool. _"Wha'?"_

_"Another one with two minds. This is different...quite different. A Pharaoh and a Thief...I wonder how they get along."_

_"You don't want to know."_

_"No. Now, I suppose..."_

_"Sort Yuugi. I am not the one who needs schooling here."_

_"The last one said the same thing...understand...you are a part of your Hikari's mind. You are the most important thing by which he will be placed. After all...this one is easy. Incredibly loyal, but both of you would simply not fit into Hufflepuff. Intelligent. Both of you are. Wise, you are, Pharaoh. No Ravenclaw. Slytherin...Yuugi is clever, cunning, and if he wished to be, he would be manipulative. You know how to play with emotions, do you not? Yes. And you, Pharaoh, embody Slytherin. But it would not work. You two have a sense of nobility, loyalty, and courage that Slytherin fail to have. This is fairly simple..._GRYFFINDOR!"

The table broke into wild cheers.

The Slytherin's gave a unanimous sigh of relief, because they had gotten none of the Mudblood foreigners...thank goodness.

Yuugi sat down somewhere in between Kaiba and Harry, Ron, and Hermione, oblivious to the death glares Kaiba was sending his way.

Eventually, Dumbledore stood, saying a few words, welcoming the Hogwarts students.

Finally, he clapped his hands.

Numerous first years and most of the transfers jumped as the platters in front of them filled with food.

And then they ate.

Yuugi chatted happily with his yami, as well as several other Gryffindor's, obviously more comfortable around people than any of the other transfers. Kaiba played with his food, ocassionally eating a bite or two.

Then several figures swooped into the Hall, startling several people.

_Ghosts._

The Gryffindor ghost, called 'Nearly Headless Nick' by most of the people in the table, only drifted over to Yuugi and Kaiba when he had spoken to all the others.

Yuugi smiled brightly at the ghost. "Hello, what's your name?"

"Sir Nicholas de Mimsy Porpington."

Yuugi looked slightly confused. "Wow. That's long. Would it be okay if I just called you Sir Nicholas?"

Sir Nicholas looked surprised. "That would be most welcome."

Yuugi smiled. "Great! I'm Yuugi Motou. The guy next to me is Seto Kaiba."

Yuugi and Sir Nicholas exchanged some more words, before the inevitable question came. "Why do they all call you Nearly Headless Nick?"

Sir Nicholas sighed, swinging his head to one side. It fell, so that it was only held up by a thin flap of skin. Kaiba looked faintly sick, and pushed away his food. Yuugi, on the other hand, seemed fascinated. "That's amazing!" He breathed.

Sit Nicholas swung his head back on, looking faintly pleased. "Thank you." He left a little while later.

Over at the Ravenclaw table, Bakura and the Ravenclaw ghost were engaged in deep conversation. Malik looked like he wanted nothing more than to sleep.

All of the ghosts left, and soon after, the Prefects and heads of House led the Houses away as well.

Because there were a couple of extra rooms in Ravenclaw, Malik and Ryou were able to share one, undisturbed by anybody else, a great relief to both of them.

Yuugi and Kaiba did not have that same luck. They shared with Harry and Ron, something that Kaiba was seething about.

The room-mates began to sleepily unpack, letting out their animals if they were not birds. Yuugi wasn't very secretive about what he unpacked, because there wasn't much interesting in his luggage. Everything that was was kept in the trunk and pushed under the bed, safely. Kaiba's packing was basically the same.

Soon enough, everybody, exhausted, went to sleep quickly.

Because of that, Kaiba was able to get up, get his lap-top, and sneak downstairs, having been pretending to sleep so that nobody asked him questions that he didn't feel like answering. Mistake followed him down like a little shadow, and he didn't really care.

He settled into one of the cushy chairs in front of the empty fireplace, and Mistake snuggled in next to his leg. It was dark downstairs, so the light of the lap-top was bright, illuminating his pale face and making it appear ghostly.

He managed to send an e-mail to Mokuba, which, ever after just having been away for a day, was still three pages long on _Word._

Then he got to work, getting an impressive amount done before he closed the lap-top, and before he could get upstairs, succumbed to an uneasy sleep.

After a while he woke up. It was five o' clock in the morning by then, and he cursed, looking around. Eventually, he breathed a sigh of relief. Nobody had gotten up yet. If they had, he would have been pelted with even more pointless questions.

He looked out the window. It was rather gray outside. A pretty color.

"Um...Kaiba?"

Turning his stare towards the voice, he wasn't surprised to see Hermione Granger. She seemed like the type to get up earlier than others. He said nothing, opening his lap-top and turning his gaze back to his work.

In a few hours, it would be the first day of classes, he mused.

But he tried not to think about that.

**_

* * *

_**


End file.
